The Years Before Nineteen: Draco's Story
by willowscribe
Summary: What happened between the end of DH and 19 Years Later? Well, Daphne Greengrass thew a party. A small event to be sure, yet a monumental one as well. After all, two lifelong lovers met that night - a guest and the sister of the hostess. Draco and Astoria.


**Hello all! A small new project for me, mainly because I haven't written in the HP fandom in ages and I miss it. Basically, I'm writing what happened between the end of DH and 19 Years Later for characters besides Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Unbeta'd, so there may be a few mistakes. If you spot any, please be kind enough to point them out. Remember, reviews are an author's best friend! If this gets enough support, I'll write Luna's story next. Enjoy!**

**EDIT: Fixed some typos and one facepalm-worthy mistake.  
**

**Disclaimer: HP is not mine.**

_The Years Before Nineteen: Draco's Story_**  
**

The owl banged obnoxiously on the window, ruining any chance of the nice, easy morning Draco had been expected. Groaning quietly, the eighteen-year-old put his book aside and rose off the comfortable new couch he'd just bought. Striding quickly over to the window, Draco threw it open and winced as a blast of icy, wintry air gushed in. The owl itself quickly hopped off the window ledge, clearly glad to be out of the snow. It ruffled its brown feathers and gazed at Draco imperiously with burning amber eyes. Draco chuckled and took the letter from the owl's leg, wondering absently who would be writing _him_…

The envelope was a creamy color, and written in green ink was his name. Draco shrugged and opened it quickly. Pulling the folded letter out of the envelope, Draco flipped it open and began to read the curly handwriting.

_Draco,_

_It's Daphne! I know, surprise, right? But I just realized – I haven't seen you in a whole year! Amazing how time flies, isn't it? So I got to thinking that I'd like to see all you guys, my Slythies, again. I mean, really, it's been an eternity! I'm hosting a little reunion at The Selkie's Skin – you know, that pub down the street from Gringotts? I'm inviting all our yearmates, with the option to bring along some friends. It's Friday night, five o'clock. I got us a private party room and everything. If you're coming, send a reply back with Baxter. Hope to see you there!_

_Love, Daphne_

Daphne. Draco couldn't help but smile. This was just so like her, to bring them all back together for a reunion. When they'd still attended Hogwarts, Daphne had been the mothering one, making sure they all did their homework and didn't hurt themselves playing Quidditch. She was also the one who cared for them after meetings with the Dark Lord… Draco shook himself. That part of his life was over now.

The blond skimmed the letter again to make sure he caught the date and time. He chortled when he realized Daphne had again referred to his yearmates – and himself – and "her Slythies." That had always been her nickname for them, Draco remembered. It was amusing that he was so used to it, he barely noticed to use of the term until he thought about it.

Striding over to his desk and grabbing a quill, Draco quickly wrote, _Yes please, see you there,_ on the back of the letter. He handed it to the owl, who gave him a withering look before throwing itself back out the window into the wintry weather. Smiling, Draco closed the window and headed back to the couch, where he threw a blanket over himself, grabbed his bottle of butterbeer, and continued reading his book.

[-]

Six days later found Draco striding along the mostly empty Diagon Alley, his cloak wrapped tightly about himself in an effort to keep off the cold. Where _was_ The Selkie's Skin anyway? He could have sworn he knew its location!

Finally, after circling the block three times, Draco found the pub, hidden in a corner and overshadowed by the wild and colorful Weasley's Wizard Wheezes two doors down. Slipping quietly through the door, Draco pulled his hood of his head and turned to the waiter who had come to greet him. The waiter nodded upon seeing him, clearly recognizing his face. "You here for Greengrass, then?" he asked. At Draco's curt nod, the man gestured to a door in the back of the mostly empty dining room. "Back then way."

Draco turned his back on the waiter without a second glance and strode toward the small door in the back which led to what he presumed was a party room, doffing his outdoor cloak along the way, revealing his simple, yet extremely presentable outfit. A pressed white shirt that buttoned up the front and a pair of black trousers made up his main appearance. Draco had considered wearing his Slytherin tie for old time's sake; however, he had elected not to due to the anti-Slytherin sentiment that had, if anything, increased drastically following the fall of the Dark Lord, despite the so-called "Golden Trio's" efforts to prevent it. Well, when he said "Golden Trio," he really meant "Golden Duo," seeing as Weasley would have nothing to do with increased acceptance for Slytherins. Nonetheless, the two Gryffindors were fighting an uphill battle against the public majority, and Draco was content to let them fight it. He was used to being disliked, even hated, by non-Slytherins. Increased acceptance and all really didn't matter to him.

He pulled the door open sharply and stepped inside, neatly shined black hoes rapping on the wooden floorboards. Inside, there was a long table with an emerald green tablecloth with places set for a meal. A single house elf scurried over to greet him, bowing dutifully and squeaking, "Welcome, guest of Miss Greengrass. I is Anwok, and I is the elf serving yous today. Shall I take sir's cloak?"

Draco nodded absently, handing the cloak off to the tiny creature, noting to himself that he's have to be sure to clean it later. His cloak was made of the finest silk, and he would _not_ have it sullied by a mere house elf, especially one working in a restaurant. While he knew that only rich patrons could pay extra to have a house elf serve them instead of a waiter, he would almost rather have a person. The main advantage of having an elf was that you could summon it at any time to clean up messes or demand more food instead of waiting for your server to come around. However, Draco would rather have a human handle his cloak and meal. While he knew _his_ house elf was clean, who knew where the restaurant's had been?

"Draco!" came a loud shriek, and Draco took a few steps backwards to balance himself against a wall, as Daphne had just launched herself at him and embraced him in a friendly hug. "Oh, you let your hair grow! Coo, ain't that just fine? You look right presentable now," she beamed, stepping away from him with a wink. Draco nodded absently, using his hands to try and fix his hair, which had been mussed by the voraciously friendly girl. While it was true, he's let it grow longer from its former cut, it wasn't _too_ lengthy. His platinum blond locks covered his ears completely now, but it certainly wasn't anything outrageous. Draco supposed that since Daphne hadn't seen him for a year, it was a bit of a change from his former short, tightly-cropped haircut.

"Oh, quit fixin' yer hair," Daphne sneered. "Come in, come in now! You have to talk to everyone! Only Goyle didn't show, the bleedin' sod." Daphne had always been a bit… colorful in her language. Even with a family as rich and prominent as her own, Daphne had managed to learn a way of speaking that her parents would never have approved of.

Draco smiled as he surveyed the room, following Daphne's footsteps. Yes, there was Theo, talking to Pansy. And Millie, and Blaise, and someone he thought he recognized as Theo's younger brother. "And this is me little sis, Astoria," Daphne beamed, grabbing a brunette girl by the shoulder and spinning her around. The younger of the Greengrasses winced and shoved her older sister's hand off her shoulder. "Tori, this 'ere is Dray-co Mal-foy, of the Most Noble House of Mal-foy."

Daphne's sister smiled politely and extended her hand. "A pleasure to meet you," she said. Draco took her hand a politely raised it to his lips, pressing them gently upon it.

"And to you."

Behind them, the door to the room flew open, and a thin blonde figure stood in the doorframe, bundled upon in a scarf and cloak. She shook her head, wet snow flying off her fluffy golden locks and muttered, "Just where is the genius who wanted to have this in February?"

Daphne squealed. "Tracey! I hain't seen you in for_ever_!" She immediately left Draco and Astoria's side and flew into the arms of her best friend. "Just where've you _been_?"

Tracey blushed slightly. "The Muggle world. After everything with the Dark Lord went down, my parents decided it'd be a good idea to leave for a while. We have a cottage up north now, right on the moor. It's gorgeous."

Daphne nodded happily and quickly dragged Tracey off to a corner to grill her on just what she'd been doing the past year, leaving Draco standing awkwardly with Astoria. While he didn't know her at all, which would make hosting a conversation difficult, good manners and breeding reminded him that it'd be rude to leave now. Astoria probably didn't know anyone besides Daphne anyway, and he couldn't just leave her.

"So…" Draco began, "where do you go to school? I don't think I've seen you around Hogwarts. What year are you?"

Astoria nodded, her straight brown hair bouncing on her back. "I'm a fifth year, but I go to Beaubaxtons. Mistress gave me permission to go home for the weekend. I was supposed to go to Hogwarts, but my parents heard that Beaubaxtons turned out fine, presentable," here Astoria blushed, "marriagable young ladies. After they saw how Daphne turned out at Hogwarts… well, you know how she is… anyway, they didn't mind the extra cost. Besides, I always wanted to learn French."

"Oh? Can you say something for me?"

Astoria blushed and bit her lip. "Umm… _Bonjour. Vous êtes si mignon." _She smiled._ "Vous avez de beaux yeux ."_

"And what does that mean?"

The girl, if possible, turned an even darker shade of red, giving Draco a clue of what she'd said. "That's a secret."

"Of course."

The gathering went on for about an hour, with Draco walking around the room and catching up with everyone. At around 6 o'clock, the house elf Anwok returned bearing a scrumptious dinner of turkey, potatoes, and beans, all cooked relatively well. For a little-known pub, it wasn't bad. The friends finished off the meal with a round of firewhisky, and it was with a genial mood that they began to dance to the sound of a small radio in the corner. Draco himself danced with Tracey, Daphne, Astoria, and even Pansy. Theo and Blaise were doing a strange sort of tango together, much to the hilarity of the group, when a slower song came on and Draco found himself partnered with Astoria.

Throughout the night, Draco had noticed himself drifting to the girl. The only other person in attendance that hadn't been part of Draco's year was Theo's younger brother, but he'd been getting along famously with Millicent, so Astoria was left mostly alone. Maybe it was just good manners, but Draco found her genuinely enjoyed his time with the girl. Maybe it was just that he was friendly with her, but Draco found himself pulling the girl a little closer to him as they danced than he had with his other dance partners. And maybe it was just because they were close that Astoria whispered, _"Aimez-vous dîner avec moi?"_ in his ear.

"In English?" Draco murmured.

"Would you like to have dinner with me?"

"How do you say 'yes' in French?"

"_Oui."_

"_Oui."_

That night as the friends separated and went their separate ways down the snowy path outside The Selkie's Skin, Draco and Astoria parted with promises of meeting for dinner the next day. As Draco Apparated home, his cloak wrapped tightly around him, his thoughts were filled only with his plans for the Saturday's meal. He was so enraptured by the thought of making those beautiful blue eyes sparkle with happiness that he didn't even remember to clean his cloak from Anwok's handling of it.

Neither Draco nor Astoria knew it, but that night, they had stared into the eyes of their future partner for a lifetime.

**In case anyone is curious, in the beginning Astoria told Draco that he was handsome and had beautiful eyes.**


End file.
